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Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
V. Developing the
Integrated Marketing
Communications Program
14. Direct Marketing © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
Defining Direct Marketing
As noted in Chapter 1, direct marketing is a system of marketing by which organizations
communicate directly with target customers to generate a response or transaction.
This response may take the form of an inquiry, a purchase, or even a vote. In his
Dictionary of Marketing Terms, Peter Bennett defines direct marketing as:
the total of activities by which the seller, in effecting the exchange of goods and services with
the buyer, directs efforts to a target audience using one or more media (direct selling, direct
mail, telemarketing, direct-action advertising, catalogue selling, cable TV selling, etc.) for the
purpose of soliciting a response by phone, mail, or personal visit from a prospect or customer. 2
First we must distinguish between direct marketing and direct-marketing media. As
you can see in Figure 14-1, direct marketing is an aspect of total marketing—that is, it
involves marketing research, segmentation, evaluation, and the like, just as our planning
model in Chapter 1 did. Direct marketing uses a set of direct-response media, including
direct mail, telemarketing, interactive TV, print, the Internet, and other media. These
media are the tools by which direct marketers implement the communications process.
The purchases of products and services through direct-response advertising currently
exceed $2 trillion and are projected to reach $2.8 trillion by the year 2006. 3
Firms that use this marketing method range from major retailers such as the Gap,
Restoration Hardware, and Victoria’s Secret to publishing companies to computer
retailers to financial services. Business-to-business and industrial marketers have also
significantly increased their direct-marketing efforts, with an estimated $1.3 trillion in
sales forecast by 2004. 4
The Growth of Direct Marketing
Direct marketing has been around since the invention of the printing press in the 15th
century. Ben Franklin was a very successful direct marketer in the early 1700s, and
Warren Sears and Montgomery Ward (you may have heard of these guys) were using
this medium in the 1880s.
The major impetus behind the growth of direct marketing may have been the development
and expansion of the U.S. Postal Service, which made catalogs available to
both urban and rural dwellers. Catalogs revolutionized America’s buying habits; consumers
could now shop without ever leaving their homes.
But catalogs alone do not account for the rapid growth of direct marketing. A number
of factors in American society have led to the increased attractiveness of this
medium for both buyer and seller:
• Consumer credit cards. There are now over 1 billion credit cards—bank, oil
company, retail, and so on—in circulation in the United States. This makes it feasible
for consumers to purchase both low- and high-ticket items through direct-response
channels and assures sellers that they will be paid. It is estimated that over $1.23 trillion
was charged on credit cards in the year 2001. 5 Of course, not all of this was
through direct marketing, but a high percentage of direct purchases do use this method
of payment, and companies such as American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard, and
Visa are among the heaviest direct advertisers.
• Direct-marketing syndicates. Companies specializing in list development, statement
inserts, catalogs, and sweepstakes have opened many new opportunities to marketers.
The number of these companies continues to expand, creating even more new users.
• The changing structure of American society and the market. One of the major
factors contributing to the success of direct marketing is that so many Americans are
now “money-rich and time-poor.” 6 The rapid increase in dual-income families has
meant more income. (It is estimated that by 2008 women will make up about 48 percent
of the labor force.) 7 At the same time, the increased popularity of physical fitness,
do-it-yourself crafts and repairs, and home entertainment have reduced the time available
for shopping and have increased the attractiveness of direct purchases.
• Technological advances. The rapid technological advancement of the electronic
media and of computers has made it easier for consumers to shop and for marketers to
be successful in reaching the desired target markets. Well over 110 million television
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Chapter Fourteen Direct Marketing